The Rainy Season

During the rainy season the dirt roads become rushing rivers of water and mud

It is now the rainy season in Kenya. Actually, from what I am told, it is the first of two rainy seasons during the year. In the States, we, of course, have the four seasons and they are, for the most part, distinct from each other by the amount sun, rain, or snow. In Kenya, the four seasons still exist, but the temperature doesn’t vary as much and so the seasons seem to be defined more by the amount of rainfall. Furthermore, many Kenyans are farmers and so tend to think of seasons in terms of planting and growing. So most Kenyans only talk about two seasons the rainy season and the dry season.

I collect as much water as I can during the rain storms

When each season is supposed to occur seems to vary by who I talk to, but roughly the first rainy season starts in March and ends sometime in May. In June and July the heavy rains will slow down to a drizzle. Then August and September the rains will continue until finally in October the dry season begins and lasts until February.

Rain water collected in buckets is never clear and needs to be filtered before using

During the rainy season the dirt roads can become rivers of rushing water and sticky red mud is everywhere. It can be tough to keep the clothes and shoes I have spent so much trouble washing from being soiled once again. Also, with the rain it makes drying clothes that have been washed very difficult. It most cases they have to be dried on a line inside the house.

Water is collected in a large water tank from the gutters on the roof

I suppose the biggest downside to the rainy season is that the power tends to go out very frequently. I try to keep the laptop and cell phone charged, but even so, without recharging they don’t last very long. Also, without light the house tends to be very dark and there isn't much that can be by the dim light of a kerosene lantern.

Water can now be used from the tank

The best thing about the rainy season is that there are buckets and buckets of free water just falling from the sky. This means water for cooking, drinking, washing, showering, and, of course, toilet flushing. We may tend to take these things for granted in the States, but here in Kenya, they don’t always come so easy during the dry season.